EVERETT, Wash – A teen in Everett, Washington whose school shooting plan was discovered and foiled by his grandmother was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison.
KOMO news reports that Joshua O'Connor, 19 was handed the sentence by Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Bruce Weiss. O'Connor was a former student at ACES Alternative High School.
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In December 2018, O'Connor pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery with a firearm and possession of an explosive device in connection with the plot.
In February 2018 O'Connor's grandmother, Katsel O'Connor, called 911 to report what she believed were credible threats by her grandson to incite a mass shooting at his high school.
Police met with the grandmother at her home, where O'Connor had been staying, and were shown excerpts of O'Connor's journal that the grandmother discovered last night.
The excerpt said, in part:
"I'm preparing myself for the school shooting. I can't wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate. I can't wait to walk into that class and blow all those (expletive) away. I need to make this shooting/bombing...infamous. I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count... I'm learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don't make the same ones."
The grandmother also discovered a semi-automatic rifle stored in a guitar case. Police believe O'Connor used the rifle to rob a gas station convenience store and steal $100 from the register.
During the sentencing, O'Connor's grandmother asked the judge to show mercy to her son. The judge acknowledged her heroic efforts, but declined a request for a sentence below standard range, saying that the shooting was planned methodically and not an impulse.
In a written statement, O'Connor apologized to the court, saying he'd been suicidal and abusing drugs and alcohol.